Gerda Klein lost her son, David, three years ago to suicide after he had been dealing with bipolar disorder.

“Who knows perhaps 20 years ago if my son had been given the proper testing or screening as a teen, maybe things could have turned out different,” Klein said.

After her son’s death, Klein said she was prompted to act. She started taking classes “Breaking the Silence” at Boca Raton’s Promise, which helps to break the stigma of mental illness and help children deal with it.

“The classes help to enable young people and break the stigma of mental illness so they can come out and get help,” she said.

Klein met Lorraine Michaelis through the classes and the two decided Boynton Beach was the area for which they wanted to focus their help.

“We want to identify and educate young and old about teen depression,” she said.

One in eight adolescents may suffer from depression. Of all the teens struggling with mental and emotional behavior problems, seventy percent go without any sort of intervention or treatment.

The Boynton Beach Mental Health Initiative, Michaelis and Klein’s Boynton creation, invites the community to attend a special educational program, “Let’s Talk About Teen Depression”, 10 a.m. to noon July 18 at the Boynton Beach City Library, 208 S. Seacrest Blvd.

The event at the library will be the first that BBMHI will put on, but Klein said she has gotten enthusiastic feedback from the community.

Read more about this story in the July 8 issue of the Boynton Forum.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.